The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-10-14
Secretary's Report to National AL
lance,

nance.
In presenting his report to the sew.
enth annual meeting of the National
Alliance, the Secretary desires at the
beginning to congratulate the delegates,
and through them, the great mass Of
farmers that they represent, upon the
signal progress that the Alliance and
the reforms in which it is interested, ,
have made during the year. The
steadiness Of the increase in the number
of Alliances and in our membership,
has been exceedingly encouraging.
Even through the Summer mouths,
when farmers are engrossed with the
labors of the farm, organization has
gone forward with pretty much the
same energy as in the Winter season.
While it is not possible, owing to i'm.
perfect returns from some of the State
secretaries, to give an accurate state
ment of the number of new Alliances
that have been organized or the increase
in our membership, it is believed that
there are to-day at least a thousand
more Alliances than were in existence
at our last annual meeting, and there
are probably six hundred thousand
farmers, North and South, enlisted un.
der the Alliance banner A portion of
the South is organized under a separate
national organization but the most cor
dial feelings exist between the two or.
CARNATIONS, and the Southern Alliance
has been invited to send delegates to
our meeting to-day. 1t matters not how
we are organized, SO long as we all aim
at the accomplishment of the same
purpose-the establishment of uni
versal state of justice between man and
man and class and class, In our un.
organized condition we have been and
still are the prey of all other classes.
We are affected in some measure by
every other industry. When the
monopolist seizes the gas works of our
cities and towns and EFFORTS from the
public higher price than gas is worth,
the merchant and manufacturer add the
increased cost to the articles we buy;
when coal rings combine to plum der the
people who consume coal we do not es.
cape the burden, though our stoves may
be heated with wood cut from our own
premises. High coal means an increase
of expense in the management of every
industry that we are compelled to pa.
tronize, and the burden finally is care.
fully laid and securely packed upon our
shoulders. Rings plunder US when we
sell and rings plunder US when we buy.
Even the doctors and undertakers are
III close combination, and SO, living or
dying, the farmer is numerically fieec.
ed Nobody seems to care anything
about the fundamental industry of the
country. which we sustain by hard
work and with little profit, except to
plunder it. The railroad monopoly has
fed and grown fat and arrogant upon
our farms and the sweat of our brows.
and has secured such firm grasp upon
our throats, that We are finding it ex.
ceedlngly difficult to break its relentless
grip. The immense fortunes that have
been made by railroad manipulators
have largely come, directly or indirect.
ly, from our tolls and our sacrifices. In
a sense we have had no right to com.
plain of any of these things. We may
regret that human nature is so grasping
that it readily descends to practical dis
honesty, even when clothed with broad.
cloth, but neither regrets nor theoret
ical sentiment will do US any good.
We need to enter upon practical work
OF sell defense and to show some prac.
tical interest in our own affairs. 1t is
idle to expect that other classes will
look after our interests. 1t is idle to
expect that if we leave our pocket book
where thieves, either we'll dressed or